Roasted Purple Cabbage

This is a colorful, delicious, flavor-packed veggie side!

Roasted Purple Cabbage

1 head of purple cabbage, cut into 1-inch cubes

1/2 of an onion, coarsely sliced

garlic powder

smoked paprika

chili powder

cinnamon

olive oil

sesame oil

coarse salt

pepper

optional garnish: Greek yogurt or (vegan) sour cream plus chili crisp

Spread the chopped cabbage and onion out onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle and drizzle the whole sheet with all other ingredients—you’ll be fine without measurements! For the spices, just give an all-over dusting of each. Add more of whatever you like (I suggest extra garlic and a lighter dusting of cinnamon). Drizzle generously with olive oil (at least 3 tablespoon) and a lighter sprinkle of sesame oil (approx 1 tablespoon). Toss a bit before putting it in the oven.

Roast at 450° F for about 30 minutes, turning/tossing half way through. You’ll know it’s done when some of the leaves are crispy and browned (but not burnt – see photo below).

Enjoy by itself or top with Greek yogurt and chili crisp. (You can also use sour cream, or non-dairy sour cream. I love Trader Joe’s chili crisp that comes in a small glass jar).

*TIP: This is best enjoyed right out of the oven as it loses crispiness as it cools.

Enjoy!

450F for 30 minutes…This is how it looks when it’s ready to come out of the oven.

This is delicious and I could eat half a sheet pan. Enjoy!

Shop the Forest Feast plate set this cabbage is pictured on here.

Summer Entertaining Recipes

We love hosting summer dinners on the deck and I’m always looking for dishes that can be made ahead and served at room temperature. Here are my go-tos:

Peach Caprese (similar to the Nectarine Caprese in The Forest Feast)

Sesame Farro Salad (from The Forest Feast Gatherings)

Roasted Potato + Greenbean Salad (from The Forest Feast Gatherings)

BBQ Corn Salad (from The Forest Feast Road Trip)

Happy cooking!

Butternut "Brisket" for Rosh Hashana

The Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, is coming up this weekend and we always host a festive fall dinner. I’m constantly in search of a good vegetarian main course and in the past I’ve often done a Squash Lasagna. Brisket is a main dish commonly served at Rosh Hashana so I thought I’d do a vegetarian dish inspired by it. I ended up making a whole butternut squash sliced hasselback-style (which is easier than it looks!) and baked with some spices and herbs that are often used when making a meat brisket.

The trickiest part of this recipe is peeling the butternut. Use a potato peeler and shave down the sides while it’s whole. Hopefully your peeler is sharper than mine and this won’t be too much of a chore! After the squash is halved and the seeds removed, slice each one hasselback-style, like above. Some recipes suggest using chopsticks on either side, but I didn’t have any, so instead I used a couple of butter knives that I didn’t care much about. They create a bit of space between your knife and the cutting board so that you don’t cut all the way through and the whole thing stays intact.

Everything is baked and served in the same dish

Everything is combined in one casserole baking dish which makes it easy to serve as well. A spiced liquid is poured over the whole dish before baking. Pomegranate and chives are added once it comes out of the oven. I prefer to eat a myriad of sides and while this could be a veggie side, it’s so substantial and pretty in the dish that it feels like a main and accompanies several sides so nicely. Also, this goes without saying, but it could of course be served alongside actual brisket if that’s what you’re serving!

Sprinkle it with pomegranate and chives when it comes out of the oven

A festive, colorful vegetarian main course for a fall meal.

Butternut “Brisket” for Rosh Hashana

1 medium butternut squash (approx 3 pounds), peeled and cut hasselback style

Veg to scatter around the main squash:

• 1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into big cubes

• 2 carrots, cut into big cubes (I don’t bother peeling)

• 1 large red onion (or 2 small) cut into big cubes

• 5 dates (sliced in chunks)

• 1 handful (yellow) cherry tomatoes

• 3 bay leaves

For the sauce:

• 1/2 c veg broth

• 1/2 t paprika

• 1/4 t cinnamon

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 3 T honey (or maple syrup to make it vegan)

• 1/4 olive oil

• 1 t coarse salt

Garnish:

• 2 t chives, finely chopped

• 1/3 c fresh pomegranate seeds

• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions: (preheat oven to 425F)

1. Start by using a hand potato peeler to peel the skin off the butternut squash while it’s whole. This is the hardest part of this recipe, so hang in there! It just takes a few minutes. Go little by little around those curves.

2. Use a large knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise. I like to trim the bottom of the squash just a tiny bit to remove any remaining peel, but keep the stem (it’s pretty!). Use a spoon to remove the seeds.

3. Lay the 2 squash halves face-down on a cutting board. Starting with one of them, lay 2 butter knives (or chopsticks or wooden spoon handles) alongside the squash (see pic above). This keeps you from cutting all the way through and keeps the squash intact. This is hasselback! Looks pretty, but it’s not too hard–who knew?! Slice both squash halves from end to end. If some slices fall out as you go (mine did) just pop them back in. If you slice the whole thing in half, don’t worry, just push it together in the pan later. No one will notice!

4. Place both “hasselbacked” squash halves in a casserole dish, face down. I used an oval dish that’s 9x13”. Scatter all the other cubed vegetables, etc around the squash.

5. Combine all the sauce items and stir. Pour this mixture over the whole casserole.

6. A note on the dates: try to have them be submerged in the liquid otherwise they can get burnt and chewy and hard in the baking process (which I kinda like but it’s probably not for everyone!). If your squash was big, or your dish was big, or you had a LOT of veg piled up around it….you may want to add a bit more veg broth.

7. Let’s bake this thing! It should take about an hour at 425F in the middle rack. Half way through, open the oven and use a spoon to (carefully!!) spoon the liquid from the sides over the butternut and into those crevices. Stir the veg on the sides a bit and make sure those dates are underneath the liquid. At the 50-60 minute mark, use a fork and poke the squash and surrounding vegetables. If they are soft, it’s done! If your squash was on the bigger side, it might need a bit more time.

8. When it comes out of the oven, sprinkle the top with chives and fresh pomegranate seeds

9. Serve it hot and enjoy!

Suggestions for other items to serve it with (apples and honey are key at Rosh Hashana!):

• Round Challah

• Apple & Honey Mules (cocktails)

• Skillet Tofu and Onions

• Apple Matchstick Salad

• Roasted Zaatar Carrots

• Honey-Balsamic Green Beans

• Honey Cake

Shana Tovah!

Balsamic Grilled Radicchio + Strawberries

Summer is officially here! And we just got a new gas grill. We’ve never had a gas BBQ (always charcoal) and I love the ease of just walking outside and throwing something on for a few minutes.

We got radicchio and strawberries in our farm box this week and I put them on the grill together tonight (I love purple and red together on my plate!). The result was tasty! I put them over a bed of quinoa, but they could be served alongside almost anything. To offset the radicchio’s bitterness, I used honey in the marinade and sprinkled the final plate with strong salty Parmesan shavings.

Balsamic Grilled Radicchio + Strawberries

1. Cut a radicchio into 6 wedges, leaving a bit of the core at the bottom of each slice to keep them intact. Lay the pieces out on a platter and drizzle/sprinkle with the following items on one side. No need to measure (you’ll be fine!), just go easy on the Braggs to ensure it’s not too salty.

• olive oil

• balsamic vinegar

• Braggs Liquid Aminos (or soy sauce)

• sesame oil

• honey

• black pepper

2. Thread fresh strawberries (stems removed) onto kebab sticks. Sprinkle the berries with olive oil, balsamic and coarse salt.

3. Place everything on the BBQ (gas grill on medium heat) for a few minutes on each side. I like the radicchio leaves to get a bit charred and crispy on the edges. Pull the strawberries off if they start to get to soft. (The strawberries may need a bit less time than the radicchio depending on size and ripeness)

4. Place the radicchio and berries on a bed of quinoa. If there is leftover marinade on the platter, feel free to use it as dressing. Sprinkle each plate with a hard, sharp cheese like Parmesan, if you wish.

Serving suggestions: To make this a side dish, you could serve one wedge per person, in which case it serves 6. I’d budget about 1/2 cup quinoa and 3 strawberries per person.

Enjoy warm!